Do you find the term/meme 'Karen' an insult?

[VladmirsPoutine]

This is a discussion I have recently read a few opinion pieces about.

Do you think it's indeed classist, racist and misogynistic to describe certain women as a Karen?

Here you go - it’s a meme ubiquitous enough that it needs no explanation

Yes it’s a stereotype - where are the male equivalents? Mullet memes? And why should a hairstyle that is common in older women possibly due to practical length, or thinning hair and going grey be gleefully mocked? What’s the nearest equivalent - a combover which is used by men to disguise balding?

And fgs. Posing for the camera. That’s what people do when their photograph is taken. It doesn’t mean they consented to be memed.

Gronky - are you old enough to remember viz magazine?

I was a teenager when it was first popular (in the sense that I saw it on the news stands) but I didn't read it because I thought it was some sort of adult Beano.

Yes I think it’s offensive. I also dislike the use of the term ‘boomer’ in a negative way.

Posing for the camera. That’s what people do when their photograph is taken. It doesn’t mean they consented to be memed.

Apologies, I took:

have had their photo taken without their knowledge or consent while minding their own business in public

to mean people being unwittingly or unwillingly photographed in public.

It’s ageist, misogynist and unimaginative. How dare these middle-aged women speak up for themselves and their families. I wonder why there is no male equivalent.

The only whataboutthemen that is directly relevant to the discussion of the Karen meme is where is the men’s one.

Misogyny is memed and collectively accepted and spread in ways that homophobia, racism and ableism is not.

Those memes aren't even amusing.

And most women named Karen (I'm of that generation) wouldn't be anti-vaxers - the majority of us got our kids jabbed!

Why is it a generally a mother associated with anti-vax memes? More women blaming with a subtext that removes male parents from responsibility for child health decisions. Two for one.

I'm also amused by the people who feel they need to explain how memes work to anyone who thinks Karen or boomer is sexist or ageist because obviously the problem is that an older woman who objects to sexism online just doesn't understand the internet

I find it annoying because its my name! I don't have a blonde bob, nor am I a nightmare with customer service or impatient with other customers, I work in a public facing role . I used to quite like my name!. I suppose its the same when people would label women called Sharon or Tracey as Essex girls, wearing to much make up and short skirts. Generalising women because of a name doesn't help anyone and is spiteful and extremely narrow minded which i guess says more about them than it does others.

Hahaha IKR?? As if we weren’t using the Internet from the mid 90s onwards

I very gently asked someone on Twitter whether he’d consider not using Karen as an insult again.

I was genuinely shocked to receive several horrible comments from various men and transactivists. It’s another ‘Okay boomer’ only sex specific. Didn’t matter that I had asked politely and explained why. I was immediately seen as a target.

No, there are no American insults for males that are a Karen equivalent. Nobody in America is going around calling mocking Gary’s. It is not a thing. There are no insults for males anywhere that are. Yes, it’s misogynistic, which is why men love it so much.

That said I wouldn’t care if anyone called me one. Go ahead. Karen’s get things done. Feel free to call me a carcéral feminist as well, I love it.

I think it's unacceptable.

People on here use Wendy, Debbie (Downer) , Tim Nice-But-Dim, Kevin the Teenager, Tarquin and Jocasta in a similar way.

Yep to internet from mid 90s. Dial up speed and waiting for pages to load. Some older women work in tech. IT careers that are older than the internet.

I thought Chad was an American insult? Jock, low IQ, popular with the girls.

I've also heard Becky?

It is definitely sexist and I dislike it a great deal.

@Dyme Yes, there are men doing the same thing. For some inexplicable reason, they’re called Karen’s too.

And, yes, Chad is an insult. As is his Dad, Brad.

Sexist as no male equivalent.

Not racist!!! Not particularly classist either

It most certainly is racist. "Karens" are always white.

It probably is classist too , to some extent. It relies on "Karens" being sufficiently confident and articulate to make a complaint.

People on here use Wendy, Debbie (Downer) , Tim Nice-But-Dim, Kevin the Teenager, Tarquin and Jocasta in a similar way

They aren't acceptable either.

I saw a really horrible twitter post about 'karen' spreading coronavirus misinformation on Facebook, heard from her cousin, on her crushed velvet sofa with life live love above it, who is her family's hero, that he'll take his information from an actual scientist.

Of course written by a man. Implying middle aged mothers are stupid, use Facebook (so behind with social media) - and also possible swiping at women who aren't in the workforce.

My nephew did say 'alright mumsnet' to me in the family WhatsApp group because I was clipping my ds hair. Little does he know I actually am on mumsnet!!!

It is absolutely insulting. I do remember being a Nigel used in the same way - the inference being the person was a loner/had no friends. But it was used for people of both sexes

gen.medium.com/a-cultural-history-of-feminine-nouns-turned-into-insults-4f6d49a3e4be

It’s nouns not actual names but worth a read.